Vacuum-pump or compressor.



-J. A. LAPORE.' VACUUM PUMP 0R COMPRESSOR.

APFLIGATION FILED MAR. 14, 1911.

Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

iNvENToR A U'ToRNY JCI-IN LAFORE, F QYNWYD, PENNSYLVNIA.

VACUUM-PUMP on. coMPREsson.

Specification of Letters Paten-t. Patented NOV; 2S, 1911.

Application sied March 14, 191i. seriai N. 614,381.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN A. LAFORE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cynwyd, in the county of Montgomery andv State of Pennsylvania, have invented a cer ltain new and useful Vacuum-Pump or Compressor, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to apparatus iii the.

lo'nature of alvacuum pump for withdrawing air, gas, or similar fluid 7" from `its container or a com ressor for raisinof such a fluid from lower pressure to higher-pressure.

In the practice of my invention, I employ a liquid, such as water, for producing the action above described', the li uid being employed as separated portions or moving the fluid to raise the same from` a lower to a higher pressure, as, for example, by exhausting the air or other uid from a condenser or other'chamber.

In my apparatus I provide an inlet for the l forms my vinvention may take, reference is to be had to theaccompanying drawing, in-

which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through a form of my invention involving a rotary part for carrying. out the principle illus trated in Fig. l. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a modification-of the form of .apparatus shown in Fig. 1. .Fig 4; is a simplified or diagrammatic view illustrating my invention, associated with a condenser for steam or thel like.- Fig. 5 is. a simplified -or diagrammatic view illustrating my invention in combination with a barometric condenser. iFig. 6 is a' 'fragmentaryvview illustrating a form of'my invention 'in which the rotary part of the apparatus. is no'tdriven by a separate motorl or prime mover, but -by the liquid or water itself.

In Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown. within a casiiig'15 a rotary impeller wheel 16 with.

a plurality of passages 17 communicating with tlie liquid orwater inlet 1 8.` The im-` peller 16 is secured upon a driving shaft 19 lextending outside of the casing l5 and hav ing thereon a pulley 20 for vrotating the impeller as driven by a motor, engine or othersuitable' device. Outside of the im- 50 peller 16 is the stat-ionarycontinuous ring 21 having a plurality of varies. 22 and sub# stantially uniformly distributed around its circumference. Between the vanes 22 4are e formed lthe passages 23 all communicating 65 'hat their outer ends with the discharge passage 24, here shown iii thel form of a lvolute having the exit at 25. The passages 23 are tubular in that' they are more or lesselon.-

ygated and surrounded on all sides, except at their Aend openings, by; an inclosing wall. IVliile'these passages arefstat'ed to be-tubu# lar, it is not to be understood that the cross sectionv of the passages isnecessarily'circular, but -maybe of any suitable shape, and as here illustrated, lare not circular in cross y section."y Between the varies 22 and communicating with the passages 28 is the series of ports. or openings 26 which allv communicate with the annular chamber 27, which lat- So ter communicates through the opening 28 with the open atmosphere, in the case that air is to be compressed, oi' which communicates with a vchamber containing the air or other lfluid which is to be exhausted from such chamber.

The number of passages 1-7l in the iinpeller 16 may be made'anything desired, and the direction of curving of the passages, or. the direction of extent ofV the passages, may be made anything suitable'or desirable; but there should vbesubstantial separation between the peripheral outlets of passages l?, whereby intermittent 'flow of liquid through eaehpassage 23 isl insured. 95

e As viewed in Fig. 2, the direction of rotation of the-impeller 16- is clockwise, as indicated by the arrow. A

4In operation, the liquid or water is admitted at 1 8 and passes to the inlet of the -100 impeller 16, and while the iinpell'er is being rotated at suitable speed, 4disclfiargesat the periphery of the 'impeller and passes .out through the passages 23 between the varies l 2 2 vinto the dischargepassage 24. The .effect 105 is, considering any one .impeller passage; 17,

to discharge through successive passages 23 masses of water. fTliese pass the fi-uid or air openings 26,which in Fig. .2 are shown as preferably yinclined outwardly, and small l1() masses of air are entrapped or sucked from the passage` or chamber 27 and carried with the water into the discharge passage 24 be- L ing ultimately discharged together` at- 25 from the apparatus. It will be noted, theretore, that the fluid or airl inlet, as at openings'26, is at a point between the liquider water inlet and the discharge passage or outlet for combined water and air or liquid anofl,. jtluid. The passages 23 may bev constricted as at 29, it desired.

lThe shapes 'ot the vanes 22 and or' the passages 23 may be madev anything suitable or be understood that the inclination of the In ig. 3 the partsare similar: to those shown in Figs. 1 and-2-g-except'that the passages 26 tor the air tir-fluid are not located I 'so definitely in passages 23,:but communicate with the passages 23 at their inner edges where the impeller 'passages 17 communicate with said passages 23. Tl1at is to say, y instead ot the passages 26 being made through the material surrounding the passages 23 .of Figs. 1 and 2, they'are made through the material rjust at or just wit-hin the inner .bounding circle of the vanes 22 and passages 23, of Fig. 2. this construction, there is provided an inlet for both liquid and fluid and an 'outlet tor both liquid and fluid. In Fig. 3, since the location is different in these respects, the passages 26 need not be separate openings but fmay be a circumferent-ially continuous narrow slit or opening. n f

VAs is obvious to any one skilled in hydraulics, the pulleys 2O maybe omitted and the impellers or runners 16 of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 maybe drivenlby the water itself which is admitted to them under pressure, the direction of the passages 17 in the impeller or runner being made suitable tor rotating the impeller or runner. under the water pressure itself v and the inclination of the 'vanes 22 and passages 23 being correspondingly suited. This arrangement is shown simply-in Fig. l6', where no driving pulley is provided.

In Fig. 4 my rotary apparatus is shown as having its tluid o r air inlet 28 connected to the barometric or other condenser 30 whose outlet for water and condensed steam is indicated at 31, the condensing water inletat 32and the steam inlet at 33.

In Fig. 5 myl rotary apparatus is4 shown in combination with the barometric condenser 34 having the :.barometric column 31 with condensing inlet 35 and steam inlet 36.- The tluidor air inlet 28 of'mvapparatus is shownvconnected to the condenser 34. Mv

apparatus here, however, is not supplied with a pullev for driving the `nnpeller. hut

the impeller is driven due to the tall ol" Water through the barometrie column 3T.

It is to be understood that this ligure is diagrammatic only but that in practice the barometric column 3l of the condenser 34 would be largerjin diameter than the column 3T connecting w1 h the tluid and liquid discharge 25 ot my apparatus, and that this figure is not intended to indicate proportions but merely the matter ot arrangement.

From the foregoing description it will appear that I have provided apparatus having a rotary part, which willgexlmust iiuid or air or compress the same by admitting the fluid or air at a point between the inlet for the liquidLand the discharge tor the liquid and Huid; or by admitting the fluid or air at substantially the same point with the liquid. I

It will be noted also that my impeller 16 is a total inux or etilux impeller, that is to say, the water flows through all its passages continuously.

It Iis tobe understood that I do not wish to be limited to the proportions illustrated in my drawings which are Vsimply illustrative of the principles of my invention. For example, in Figs. 1 and 3, the air passages 28 may in actual practice be larger thany the water passages 18 or may have any suitable relative proportions.

For the sake ot simplicity I employ in the a 3 ended claims the term air as a a l 7inrr to air, gas, or similar tiuid hereinbetore referred to, and I employ the terni water as applying to water or any other liquid.

Il/Vhat I claim is:

l. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a member having a tubular passage having an inlet for water and an outlet tor air and water, ot a movable member having. a water passage for intermittently delivering water into said rst mentioned passage, and means for admitting air to said first mentioned passage at a point between said inlet tor water and said outlet for water and air.

2. In rapparatus ot' the character described, the combination with a member having a tubular passage having an inlet for water and an outlet for air and water, ot means for admitting air to said passage between said inlet and outlet, and means tor intermittently delivering water into said inlet.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a member having a tubular passagel having an inlet for water A and an outlet for air and water, of means for admitting air to said passage between said inlet and outlet, and means for inter mittentlv delivering water at high velocity into said inlet.

4. In apparatus of the character described,

a member'having a plurality-of.tubular-passages each having an 'inlet for water and an 'e amemb ,outlet Aforging and water, 'meansfforv admit`v ingairto each passage at-..a1. i' .itsin-let and its outlet, 'andme li'vering -water into the-"inlets of saidpassages 'in succession.

5. Inap' aratus vof the character described, aving a pluralityot tubular passages each; having an inlet for water and an outlet-,r-air andwater, means for admitting air to v each passage at a point between its inlet and its outlet, and a rotary member delivering water at high yjelocit-y into said inlets in succession.

6. In apparatus of the scribed, ,the combination with a rotary impeller having a water passage therein, of a stationary member surrounding said' impeller and having a plurality olt'jindependent tubular passages through which water is delivered in succession from said mpeller passage, means for admitting airto said pasl.sages-in said stationary member independently of said inipeller, a discharge casing surrounding said stationary'member and receiving the air and water discharged from said passages insaid stationary member,

'. and an outlet from said discharge casing for lpassages atpoints between their inlets and 4peller haying a water passage therein, of a stationary member surrounding said imfpeller and having a plurality of independent tubular passages through whicn water is delivered in succession from said impelleil passage, means for admitting air to said' passages at points between their inlets and outlets. and a discharge chamber surround- Aing said 'stationary member and receiving the water and air discharged from said passages in said stationary member.

9. In Aapparatus ofthe character described, the combination with a rotary impellet haring a water passage therein'. of a stationary member surrounding said 1mpeller and having a plurality of independent tubular passages through which water is delivered in succession fromsaid impeller Apassage. means for delivering air to said passages in said stationary member independently of said impeller at pointsbetween the periphery of said impeller and the outlets of said passages in said stationary member. a discharge casing surrounding ,said

.stationary member and receiving Water and character de- -with regard to the direction of 'rotation of said impeller, a discharge casing surrounding said stationary member common to said passages in said stationary member, and means for delivering air to said pzlssages in said stationary member independently of said impeller at points between the periphery of said impellerl and the outlets of said passages into said :discharge casing.

11. -In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotatable imwardly and backwardly with regard to thel direction of rotation.. of a stationary member surrounding said impeller and having a plurality of-independent tubular passages receiving water from said impeller in suc.- cession, said passages in said stationary member extending outwardly and forwardly with regard to the direction of rotation of said impeller, al dischargecasing surround:

passages in said stationary7 member, and means for delivering air to said passages at points between the inlets andoutlets of said passages. a 12. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable impeller having a .water passage therein. of a stationary member sur rounding said impeller and having a plu- 'ality of separate tubular passages, a casing in closing said impeller and said stationary member, and an annular air chamber having means for admitting air to said separate passages in said stationary member.-

13. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable impeller having a' water passage therein. of a stationary member suroutlets.

14 .he combination with a condenser. of a' ro'tata e impeller haring a water passi'ige therein. stationary member surroumling dependent tubular` passages. means comunimember extending outwardly and forwardly peller having a water passage sloping out- Y ing said stationary member common to said l rounding said impeller and hayinga plu' member at points between their inlets and' saidjiinpeller andvhaving a plurality of'inrounding said impeller and :having a nlurality of indepe dent tubular passages, a

-air -therefrom to said independent' passages in said stationary member, a discharge casreceiving air and Water from said Epassages, and anfoutlet delivering air and Wager.

'15. In apparatus the scribed, a rotatable impeller having a water passage therein, a stationary member'surcasinginclosing saidl impellr "and said-'stavmeans surroundlng sald statlonary member andv for said dischargeA chamber for- 'chajracter detionary member, a.. discharge passage' in said casing, an annular alr for admitting denser, and'ineans for said condenser to In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature inthe presence oit-he two subscribing witnesses. l l i d J l CHN A. Witnesses ELEANOR T. MCOALL, ANNA E. STEINnoQm,

LAFORE chamber having 15 air to said separate lpassages" 1n said stationary member, a vconde'livering airfrom said annular chamber. 

